Archaeology in the Hinterland of Fort Ross, California

加利福尼亚州罗斯堡腹地的考古学

• 批准号: 8918960
• 负责人: Kent Lightfoot
• 金额: $ 1.99万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-02-01 至 1992-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8918960&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Archaeology; Hinterland; Fort; Ross; California

Under the guidance of Dr. Kent Lightfoot, a group of graduate students will analyze materials collected in the initial phase of the Fort Ross archaeological project. They will also conduct related documentary research to prepare for a larger-scale field project. The Fort Ross site, located on the coast of California, was established by Russia in 1812 (and maintained until 1841) as a base for sea otter hunting. It also served as an agricultural station where crops and livestock were raised for local consumption and for shipment to Russia's Alaskan colonies. In addition to Europeans, the base contained Alaskan natives. Presumably both groups interacted with the Native American peoples who inhabited this coastal area. Dr. Lightfoot and his team are focussing their attention on this interactive aspect and have located a series of likely native American sites which both pre and postdate the establishment of the Fort. Analyses will include obsidian hydration dating of lithic remains, processing and cataloging of artifacts, analysis of faunal and floral remains, and sediment studies. Relevant ethnohistoric and archaeological sources will also be examined to put these materials into a broader anthropological context and to establish directions for future research. This research is significant for several reasons. First, excellent ethnographic data exists on aboriginal California peoples, and archaeologists have used this information to reconstruct hypothetical prehistoric lifeways. However, it is unclear how great the impact of Russians and other Europeans was and some argue that aboriginal life was markedly changed by this contact. This project will help to answer this question. Secondly, the research will assist in the training of several young and extremely promising scientists.

在肯特·莱特富特博士的指导下，一组研究生将分析罗斯堡考古项目初期收集的材料。他们还将进行有关的文献研究，为更大规模的实地项目做准备。罗斯堡遗址位于加利福尼亚海岸，由俄罗斯于1812年建立（一直维持到1841年），作为海獭捕猎的基地。它也是一个农业站，在那里种植农作物和牲畜供当地消费，并运往俄罗斯的阿拉斯加殖民地。除了欧洲人，基地里还有阿拉斯加土著人。据推测，这两个群体都与居住在这片沿海地区的美洲原住民有过互动。莱特富特博士和他的团队正把注意力集中在这种互动方面，并找到了一系列可能是在堡垒建立之前和之后的美洲原住民遗址。分析将包括黑曜石水合作用对石器遗迹的年代测定，人工制品的处理和编目，动物和植物遗迹的分析，以及沉积物研究。还将审查有关的民族历史和考古资料，以便将这些材料纳入更广泛的人类学背景，并为今后的研究确定方向。这项研究有几个重要的原因。首先，关于加州原住民的优秀人种学数据存在，考古学家利用这些信息重建了假设的史前生活方式。然而，目前尚不清楚俄罗斯人和其他欧洲人的影响有多大，有些人认为这种接触显著地改变了土著居民的生活。这个项目将有助于回答这个问题。其次，这项研究将有助于培训几位年轻而极有前途的科学家。